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The History of Tilbrook in Cambridgeshire

Historical notes about the town of Tilbrook in Cambridgehsire.

The parish of Tilbrook until 1888 formed a part of Bedfordshire,
but in that year it was transferred to Huntingdonshire. The parish
lies some 15 miles north-east of Bedford and rather over 2 miles
south of Kimbolton.
There are here 1,044.75 acres of arable land, 579.25
acres of permanent grass and 32 acres of woods and plantation.

The principal crops grown in this parish are wheat, beans and
peas; the soil is Oxford clay, and the subsoil clay with occasional
gravel.

Tilbrook is watered by the River Til flowing through the centre
of the parish, which is uniformly level. The ground rises rapidly,
however, towards the north and south, where the height above the
ordnance datum varies from 243 ft. to 262 ft.

The village is situated partly on the main road from
Kimbolton
to Higham Ferrers and partly on a small road at right angles to it. The
church, with the rectory adjacent, stands in fields to the east of
the latter road, and is approached by a lane from the south. In its
neighbourhood are found most of the houses of which the village
consists; they are chiefly brick or half-timbered, though here and
there a thatched cottage is to be seen. Beyond the river, north of
the church, is the Manor Farm, now used as two cottages, an old
16th-century brick and half-timbered building, with tiled roof. The
ancient doors and windows have been replaced by modern work, but the
interior still contains some exceedingly fine oak panelling.
Tilbrook Hall, a modern building, is situated on an eminence half a
mile north of the church and is the property of Capt. Robert
Fitzgerald Dalton. Tilbrook Grange is the residence of Mr. Benjamin
Measures.

Across the Til, which is here spanned by a brick arch, in the
northern half of the parish is (was) Kimbolton station, on the
Kettering, Thrapston and Huntingdon branch of the Midland Railway. A few modern
brick houses are springing up in the neighbourhood of the station
and close by are the Tilbrook bone and flour-mills.

Hardwick Farm, a modern cottage in the south of the parish, has
interesting remains of the former Hardwick Manor House. They are
situated on high ground, north of the farm, and consist of old
barns, almost entirely surrounded by a moat containing water and
spanned by a rude bridge formed of a few wooden planks. There is
also a disused windmill in this part of the parish.